Nicole Rosen, Aya Christie de Chellis
March 12, 2016
... are centrally involved in leadership and decision-making at all times and that we create a network of mainstream
a network of
mainstream decision-makers who share the same background as under-represented and
marginalized groups.
§ Consider a service or program that you use often. How would if be different if it were
designed by people who are typically unable to access that service or program?
• Assumptions and Judgments: We navigate the world every day largely anticipating what
will happen based on assumptions. We make decisions and interpret our experiences through
a filter of judgment. It is essential to recognize that this happens all the time without us being
fully aware of it. The problem is not that we make assumptions, the problem occurs when we
do not take in new information that challenges those assumptions. We should seek
information before acting on assumptions. When we can raise our own awareness about it, we
can address how it influences our attitudes, biases, behaviors, and decisions.
There are many ways that aspects of our identity are coded and contained in ways that impact
access and relationships. For example, registering for school or an intake form in a healthcare
setting.
§ Documents that identify us contain a lot of deeply personal information – often not in
our own words, but by other people’ s assessment of us – and that information can be
seen and used by people – often without our consent or knowledge. Consider the
consequences of making assumptions or judgments in those situations.
• Self-Determination & Validating Lived Experience: We recognize that those people and
institutions of authority (for example, Congress, police, hospitals, schools) make and execute
decisions that impact all of us in ways that directly relate to our experience of oppression,
autonomy, and power. It is impossible to presume to know what is best for someone else or to
say that their actions or decisions are wrong. Even when decisions are made “on behalf of” or
“in the best interest of” an individual or group of people, it is impossible for an institution,
organization, or another person to fully know the lived experience and informed perspective
of that individual or group of people. Every person is the expert on themselves and what their
needs, abilities, goals and values are. Often the real problem is that individuals are not given
important information that they need to make a fully-informed decision or that there is an
illusion of “choice” and the actual situation does not afford a person beneficial options.
§ Consider ways that we can trust and honor our own and other people’s lived
experiences. Think of a time that a decision was made on your behalf by an institution.
Think of a time that you felt strongly that you knew what was best for someone else
(not a family member, significant other, or friend).
• Don’t Deny Your Privilege – Use it to be an Ally: It can feel overwhelming to assess the
disparities of privilege and oppression that exist. This can lead people to feel guilt and shame
about their level of privilege or even to deny that they have privilege. Understanding one’s
own privilege can be a difficult process that takes some time. Do not get stuck in cycles of
dwelling on guilt and shame. Moving past this into effectively using privilege is so important.
Privilege serves a function, and a lot of good can come from using privilege to be an ally.
For example, a group of white people can start a study group about racism to educate other
white people. Seek out opportunities for symbiotic ally relationships, in which people with
different types of privilege come together to help each other in a balanced way. An example
of this is shown in the movie Pride, a true story in which a gay and lesbian group from
London raise money to support striking mine-workers in Wales.
§ Read about being an ally and seek information about ways to be an ally in your
community. What is one way you can be an ally in your community?
§ What opportunities exist for symbiotic ally partnerships?
• Other Dimensions: As you consider intersectionality, you will start to notice other aspects of
identity. Some identities and statuses are ascribed and some are achieved. Some are visible
and some are invisible. Some identities are vertical (inherited or passed down from parent to
child, such as race and ethnicity) and some are horizontal (not inherited and distinct between
parent and child, such as being LGBTQ). Feelings of marginalization and oppression are
relative to who you interact with day-to-day. A person may be more individually marginalized
and feel ignored, for example, if they are the only immigrant in their neighborhood. On the
other hand, a person may have a strong sense of community if more immigrants move to their
neighborhood, and at the same time, their community may then be targeted by anti-immigrant
surveillance, policies, and hate crimes.
§ What are your thoughts about these dimensions of identity? Do you see examples of
this in your own community? Explain.
• Research with An Eye on Intersectionality: It is critical to listen and respond to the lived
experiences of people in a way that honor their whole self and does not force a false choice to
highlight only one dimension of themselves. One example where this comes up is in research.
When you read an article that states that, for example, American girls between the ages of 12
and 18 comprise X percentage of overall reported cases of STIs, we need to understand how
information was collected, by whom and under what circumstances.
§ What are some ways that research and documentation methods can be biased or
exclusive?
§ What makes community-based research different from other forms of academic
research?
Understanding Intersectionality Usage Notes for Instructor
Understanding Intersectionality Handout for Students
Understanding Intersectionality Processing the Activity for Instructor ..."
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Subject Area(s):
- Race, Class and Gender
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Resource Type(s):
- Assignment, Class Activity, Essay
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Class Level(s):
- College 200
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Class Size(s):
- Small
- Abstract:
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The term "intersectionality" was developed by women of color organizations in the 1960s and 1970s and was included in articles written by black feminist scholars Kimberlé Crenshaw and Patricia Hill Collins in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Women of color further...